Crimson Skies (Cancelled)
by Infernaldawn1
Summary: When a terrible asteroid strikes the Earth with fatal consequences, the survivors of Danville find themselves trapped in an unforgiving world with no support or outside help. The endtimes have come and the fight to save a city becomes a fight for survival as fear begins to consume all who remain. This is a merciless world where no one is safe and monsters roam the endless darkness.
1. Prologue: The Day Danville Stood Still

**Author's Note:**

Hello everyone and welcome to a new series!

Imaginary Isabella has recently fallen out of popularity and I needed a break from that story anyway. I can't keep up the rapid updates that I had before.

The plot is still not fully developed for this story, so the next chapter won't come for a long time. This is just a teaser/prologue to see if people are interested in this idea. This takes place 8 years after the end of the series, placing everyone at around 17-18. A bit of warning though, this story is going to be dark and has more than a couple character deaths.

Oh, and I am absolutely horrible at writing emotional drama, so this whole chapter will sound extremely pretentious. I apologize in advance.

Anyway, here we go!

Update-October 5, 2018:

Due to the sudden death of interest in Imaginary Isabella and the unexpected new interest in this story, I've pushed up the date for chapter 1 to November of this year. Several edits were also made and the title was changed to Crimson Skies.

* * *

Isabella wiped sweat off her brow and let out a groan as she continued to tinker with the satellite's control panel. Although her wide range of skills as a fireside girl provided her with an aptitude in many skill sets, she wasn't the great Phineas or Ferb.

She sighed as she thought of the boy she loved. For 15 years, she had pursued him in search of affection and love. For 15 years, she had failed and now she was exhausted. Maybe it was time to move on…

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she missed the next swing and crushed her hand instead of the nail, resulting in a sharp scream of pain. Instantly, her friend was at her side.

"Are you okay chief?" Ginger asked.

Isabella hissed in pain, "You don't have to call me that. We all graduated as fireside girls 5 years ago."

"Oh come on," Ginger argued, "You'll always be our fearless leader!"

"It doesn't change the fact that I can never confront my greatest fear," she whispered.

"Are we seriously bringing this up again?" Ginger protested. "You have to show confidence in yourself! Remember what Gretchen told you a couple years ago? Just go for it! _You better jump right into it. Tell that boy how you…"_

"Okay! Okay!" Isabella interrupted, "No need for another spontaneous music number. I'll tell him tomorrow morning. Hopefully…"

"That's the spirit," Ginger cheered, before going back to work on another section of the control room.

* * *

"How are we doing Isabella?" Phineas asked from his position at the control panel. He and his brother were settled on Phineas' bed around the computer screen. Now that they were teenagers, their mother had given them a strict bedtime, especially after Candace left for college. Thankfully, the Flynn-Fletcher Bros still managed to find ways to make the most of their restless nights.

"Everything looks good so far," Isabella flashed a thumbs up. "There are just a few more modifications left that we need to make to the coding, and then the satellite should be fully functional again."

"Brilliant. I'm sorry we couldn't help, but you know, curfew."

"It's alright," Isabella responded chirpily. "At least Ginger is here with me!"

Ginger walked into view briefly to give a wave, before going back to work.

"Say, where's Perry?" Isabella asked, "Is he sleeping with you guys?"

"Oh no, he disappeared tonight," Phineas responded with a frown. "We don't really know where he went. Usually, he only disappears once a day."

* * *

"Ah ha! I got you now Perry the Platypus!" Doofenshmirtz exclaimed, "You've fallen right into my trap!"

Perry looked downward, unimpressed, and shot the evil scientist a frown.

"What? Don't give me that look. There's no way you're getting out of this. My plan is finally working!"

Perry rolled his eyes and simply advanced his king, knocking off one of Doofenshmirtz's black pieces with a smile.

"What? Oh come on I thought I had you!" the man protested, "I swear that was checkmate."

Perry shook his head. It wasn't even close.

"Ugh, well now I have to change my plan again. Hmm, now what do I do with this horse thingy again?"

Perry tried in vain to muffle his laughter. Playing his former nemesis was so easy sometimes.

* * *

"So Jeet, remind me why we're out here at midnight?" Buford said while crossing his arms.

"Well tonight is the perfect night for our astronomy project," Baljeet responded whilst adjusting his massive telescope. "The Blood Moon should be happening any minute now! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"The what moon?" Buford cried.

"The Blood Moon. It's a really rare occurrence when the trajectory and orbit of the moon lines up perfectly with…"

The bully decided to cut into the boring explanation. "Just give it to me shorthand nerd. Why is it called the blood moon?"

Baljeet put his hands on his hips indignantly, "It's because the moon will appear completely red in the night sky."

"Oh. Now why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

* * *

"Alright the sensors and observation apparatuses are online," Isabella reported as she pulled the last switch. Soon, all the lights and systems in the control room burst to life. "All in an hours work."

"That's great, all we need is to set the propulsion turbines online and our work here should be done," Phineas responded eagerly.

"Uh guys, I hate to interrupt, but I think we have another problem," Ginger shouted nervously from her position at the window, "I'm seeing a massive asteroid headed for Earth at a rapid pace!"

"WHAT?!" came the instantaneous and loud response.

Isabella snatched up the phone that she had been streaming intergalactic with (courtesy of the Flynn-Fletcher Brothers) and brought it to the portside window. Just as Ginger had stated, a massive red tinted rock was hurtling towards them at an astonishing rate. Everyone's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the saw the coming disaster.

"Ginger! What happened to the planetoid interceptor included in the ship's operating systems?"

"I can't get it installed until tomorrow," Ginger screamed, "We can't stop it!"

Isabella looked upon the impending doom with terror as the asteroid grew larger across her field of view. The red glow it was sending off became almost blinding in nature. She had studied astrology as a fireside girl and knew that an object of this magnitude would make the extinction of the dinosaurs look trivial. Yet there was no way for her to stop it.

Or so she thought.

If there's one thing the love of her life had taught her, it was that you could accomplish anything you put your mind to. Right now, there was an apocalypse coming to Earth, and she was in the position to stop it. She quickly straight her bow and put her figurative thinking cap on.

"We have to have some way to break it's course," she said frantically. "We need a large orbital object that can get in it's path in time. Large enough to hopefully shatter the asteroid, but small enough to get over there in time."

"Well…" Ginger began, but stopped almost immediately, a terrified look coming over her face.

"Ginger, do you have an idea?" Phineas prompted. "Hurry we're almost out of time!"

Ginger gave Isabella a somber look. Years of being her friend had taught Isabella the unspoken language that her teammates and friends shared with her. The idea hit her like a truck, but in her fear, she saw the merit, and bravery that her friend held within the simple plan. The formerly lead fireside girl hardened her expression, and took firm a firm grip of the ship's controls.

"Ginger, fire up the engines."

"Can you get out of the impact zone fast enough?" Phineas called, "It's too dangerous going close into the projectile's path."

Isabella gave Phineas a determined look that sent chills down his spine. He had seen that look only once before, back on the island of the summer solstice. It was the look that gave him hope, but now it only filled him with dread.

"Isabella!"

"Ginger, get out there and fire up the engines manually," Isabella said with determination, "And set a course for that asteroid."

* * *

"Ugh I cannot get these readings right," Baljeet cried in despair, "Something keeps interfering with the signal!"

"Uh huh, and what's that gotta do with me?" Buford lazed out on the blanket he had brought while Baljeet continued to mess with the telescope.

"Something's wrong," Baljeet responded, "The moon hasn't exited it's proper position and the red contrast is really blurring the view. This blood moon just won't end!"

"Wait, it's started?" Buford jumped up and tackled the boy aside as he attempted to peer into the lens.

"Maybe you should've stayed awake," Baljeet moaned with grass in his mouth.

"Well, I think I see the problem genius. Whatever that strange red glow is, it's being intensified by that weirdly large rock nearby."

"An asteroid!?" Baljeet shouted. He quickly shoved Buford aside, earning a sharp protest, before taking control once more. He swiftly angled it to the left slightly and caught sight of the massive object Buford was referencing.

"OH MY GOODNESS!"

* * *

"Isabella! I can't let you do this! There's no way to survive a direct impact!"

"I am well aware of the outcome Phineas," Isabella sighed sadly. "I never thought my time would come today, but I guess I can't control fate."

"That's awfully philosophical of you Isabella, but this is not the time for that!" Phineas protested. "This is too drastic a measure!"

Isabella took a deep breath and turned to face the boy she had grown up with into a man. She really wished that her last moments with him were spent with her in his arms and not over a monitor. She felt destiny had chosen this day for her, and yet she was still terrified by the prospect. She hid it well for Phineas' sake, but her façade was breaking over Phineas and Ferb's stricken faces.

"Ready for my last journey chief," Ginger called.

The young women instantly embraced and Isabella finally let a few tears shed from her eye as she embraced her last, and oldest member, of the troop.

"Good luck and may the light of your brave soul illuminate the stars forever."

"Poetic. A fitting send off," Ginger responded through her tears, "Catch you later, hopefully."

She snapped one last salute before leaping off into the vacuum of space. Isabella wiped the last bits of moisture from her eyes and took up her position at the helm.

"Isabella…is this the end?" Phineas asked softly. It was apparent that he had finally come to terms with her sacrifice. Isabella's heart broke at the sight of a hopeless and helpless Phineas. He was the one to live with the shattering consequences.

"Phineas, and Ferb. I'm sorry it had to end like this," she responded soothingly, "but this is where I must leave you. I just wanted to say…" she paused.

Did she really want to tell him now? At the end of the road? It would provide her with some satisfaction and closure, but what of Phineas? How would he cope with a massive revelation dropped on him without any warning or afterword. It was selfish, to grasp onto a man's heart only to tear it away from him, leaving nothing but pain. No, she would never hurt him like that.

"…that you'll always be my most treasured friend."

"Wait, Isabella!"

 **Warning! Collision imminent! Evasive maneuvers advised!**

"Hold that thought Phineas," Isabella shouted as she darted towards the controls before flooring the accelerator, "I've got to finish this."

Isabella gritted her teeth and slowly the sound of Phineas and Ferb's voice tuned out from her ears. She could hear nothing but the sound of her heartbeat and the blood pumping through her veins. The looming asteroid came into view. Ginger was to the side, directing the massive engines with all their might towards the intended destination. Isabella closed her eyes as she tried to focus on the sound of Phineas' voice.

 _Your cuteness goes right down to your core!_

 _Isabella, you're the best!_

 _Well, that's perfect_

 _Anything for you Isabella!_

"I love you Isabella!"

Isabella smiled as her last thoughts of Phineas rushed through her mind. She didn't even feel or see anything as the asteroid came into full view. She never felt pain or terror, only peace.

Then, the darkness was replaced by a brilliant blue light, and Isabella Garcia Shapiro was wiped from existence.

* * *

A giant explosion rocked DEI as the shockwave knocked all the chess pieces out of position. Perry quickly jumped to his feet as a brown haired woman dashed through the doorway.

"Dad! What are you doing this time? It's one o clock in the…"

"Vanessa wait!" Doofenshmirtz cried.

Perry didn't even have time to look up as another, far more powerful explosion rocked the building and piece of red glowing debris shot through the roof like paper. The agent was knocked over the edge, but he could still hear Vanessa's pain filled scream and Doofenshmirtz's howl of fear. He curled up in a ball and braced for impact as the ground came up to meet his harsh decent.

There was a crash, a snap, and then nothing.

* * *

"No! No! No! this is terrible," Baljeet screamed. "Something's very wrong! The asteroid has somehow broken up in orbit, but the glow is even more intense than before! It's having absolutely immense effects on the fifth dimension of space."

"and what does that mean?" Buford demanded.

"It means that it's mere presence it tearing and bending our solar system apart. I have no idea what effect it's going to have on impact!"

"Well, we're about to find out, it's coming right now!" Buford shouted.

He snatched up the Indian teen and dove under cover just as the impact came. The resulting shockwave sent tremor right down to the earth's core. In an instant, red mist emerged from the impact site and fanned out over the Tri-State area, illuminating the night with an eerie red gleam. The two teens darted upward and took a look at the damage.

"Well, we're not dead," Buford remarked. "That's a good sign."

"Umm," Baljeet looked around for any potential damage, but something caught his eye and he pointed upward.

"Look!"

Buford followed his gesture and quickly found what Baljeet was looking at.

"Oh man!"

The pair watched in horrid fascination as the mist increased in density before fanning out, consuming everything outside the Tri-State Area with a vengeance. Soon, Baljeet and Buford were the only ones left on the outskirts of Danville not encased in a vicious red glow.

"May Brahma have mercy on our souls." Baljeet whispered.

* * *

"Vanessa! Vanessa!" Doofenshmirtz called, "Where are you sweetie?"

"Dad!" Vanessa called weakly, "I'm over *coughcough here…"

Heinz quickly made his way over and began tearing away at the piles of rubble. Eventually, after several torturous seconds, he unearthed his daughter. He was about to lend a hand, but when he laid eyes on her, something made him stop.

Encasing Vanessa, was a terrible red glow that seemed to cover every inch of her. She weakly raised her eyes to meet his, but there was no light left in them.

"Dad," she coughed, "I ca…can't breath."

"Hold on baby girl," Doofenshmirtz whispered as he got to his feet and quickly started to rush to his lab, "I'll save you! There has to be an inator in here somewhere."

The youngest Doofenshmirtz watched weakly as her father began to dash away, but soon the pain became even worse as the net's radiance increased ten fold.

"DAD!"

Doofenshmirtz was barely able to cast one last glance at her daughter in agony before her whole body seemed to fold in on itself and disappear with a burst of red.

"Vanessa! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

"Isabella! Isabella! I love you! Come back!" Phineas frantically shouted as the connection broke. There was no response and Phineas collapsed on the bed in tears. He was unable to formulate a response as his brother swiftly brought him into a tight embrace. They silently shared their sorrow as a brilliant explosion rocked the night. Soon, the fiery red rocks of hell began to rain from the sky.

The Apocalypse had begun.

* * *

 _Infernaldawn1 presents:_

 **CRIMSON SKIES**

Coming November 2018


	2. Table of Contents

**Table of Contents:**

Prologue: The Day Danville Stood Still

Chapter I: A Fallen Friend

Chapter II: No Tomorrow

Chapter III: Out of Time

Chapter IV: The Divided Factions

Chapter V: Shadowed Horizons

Chapter VI: Simmering Hatred

Chapter VII: Blood Brothers

Chapter VIII: End of Hope Part 1

Chapter IX: End of Hope Part 2

Epilogue: Awakening of Darkness

Keep in mind that everything is subject to change and that this might not be the final draft.


	3. Chapter I: A Fallen Friend

**Author's Note:**

I'm amazed by all the reviews. Thank you for all the positive feedback! I changed the cover and title a bit.

I want to try and finish Imaginary Isabella before this story, but that probably won't happen. I won't be updating this very often because I have exams.

I'm also going to reduce everyone's age by 1 year. Everyone's going to be around 16-17, putting it 1 year before Act Your Age. This is to fix up the timeline I have for this story a bit.

In this story, Linda has been made aware of Phineas and Ferb's inventions early on. I didn't really want to spend time going through another "Linda finds out" story arc. That's not the focus of this story.

* * *

The residents of Danville never made it to morning before people began to pour out into the streets in a daze to see what had occurred. Their gazes caught sight of the massive shroud that had fallen across the sky, casting the night in a deep red. The night was almost empty of stars and only the tinted moon remained. The atmosphere was thick with fear as many were fearful of what had occurred.

In one house though, there was a mother who had far greater concerns. Linda Flynn-Fletcher sat up in bed with a gasp as she heard a scream of sorrow coming from her son's room, sending a jolt of fear through her body. Never before had she heard Phineas sound so scared and many horrible possibilities flashed through her mind. She was out of her bed in moments and heading to Phineas and Ferb's room.

In the hallway, she crashed into Lawrence, who was running in the same direction.

"Ugh, Linda?" the man groaned, "Was that Phineas? What happened?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

* * *

Perry shifted slightly in the rubble as he tried to figure out what had happened. He quickly looked at his surroundings and was only slightly surprised to find that his fall had been broken by a mattress delivery truck. Unfortunately, although the platypus was relatively unharmed, the truck seemed to be completely lost as it's structure was almost unrecognizable and demolished beyond recognition.

The agent stood, wincing as he put weight on his right leg, and looked into the driver's window. To his relief, the door was open and there were no signs of a body. The driver had survived, but the street was entirely empty. Without wasting any more time dwelling on his miraculous survival, Perry grabbed his jetpack and flew into the remains of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated to find his friend.

* * *

Baljeet was frantically checking his instruments while Buford watched passively. Although the former bully had no idea what his friend was doing, he could see the terrified look on his face and began to feel nervous as well. He had suggested earlier that they explore what the mist had done to the land outside the city, but Baljeet refused heatedly. He had no intention of endangering themselves from the unknown element. So, he just opted to relax as much as he could while keeping a close eye on the mist to see if it stayed where it was.

Baljeet flipped one last switch on the device and pointed it at the stars.

"Okay, according to my observations, something is very wrong here…" he whispered.

"Oh yeah, and what's that brain boy?" Buford demanded.

"The night sky should be in constant movement, but for some reason everything is fixed in place. This terrible mist is making a mess of my readings, but I can tell something is very wrong here. Even the moon itself is messing with the results more than ever."

Buford sighed and look up. Sure enough, the sky seemed to be strangely still with very little light from what should've been a full view of the stars. It was giving him the wiggins.

"So, what's causing this?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Earth has never experienced a phenomenon like this before. I can't think of anything that could possibly cause this."

"Well figure it out because I don't understand a thing about what's happenin' here and I don't like it."

"Well, it obviously has to do with the mist that came from the asteroid impact, but usually an impact of this size would lead to an extinction level event," Baljeet frowned. "So the asteroid did something to Earth. I don't think it did something in outer space because it would have to be massive in order to alter everything in view of Earth. However, I can't quite figure out what it did…"

He sat there in silence for a few moments and Buford didn't dare interrupt. So instead, he left the Indian boy to his thoughts and instead tried to concentrate on calming himself.

 _One beer, two beer, three beer, four…_

"Wait! I think I got it!" Baljeet exclaimed.

"Well, what happened then?"

A scared look crossed Baljeet face, almost as if he were too afraid of the theory he had just come up with. Slowly, he turned and picked a rock off the ground before turning to Buford.

"Uh, what are ya doin' Jeet'?" he asked nervously.

"Testing."

Without warning, he threw the rock and Buford ducked with a yelp, even though it was nowhere near his body.

"What the heck man?" he demanded.

Baljeet ignored him and simply stared behind the young man with an expression of shock.

"Hey," Buford's voice became softer and more scared, "What are you staring at?"

Baljeet pointed wordlessly and Buford turned around, gasping slightly at what he found.

The rock had been completely frozen, encased in the same mist as before and glowing a deep red like the landscape beyond the outskirts of the city. It pulsed with an unnatural frequency while floating cleanly off the ground.

"I think I know what happened," Baljeet finally stated in fear.

* * *

Linda burst into the boy's room, followed closely by her husband. The mother put a hand on the doorknob. She took a deep breath before pushing it open slowly.

"Phineas, honey are you okay?" she called softly. Without waiting for a response, she glanced into the room to find Phineas sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. Ferb was sitting by his side in silence, which was normal, but unnerving under the circumstances. Linda noted the computer in front of them and frowned.

"Were you talking with Isabella again?" she asked with a small bit of disapproval.

"Isabella…" Phineas muttered sadly and Linda raised an eyebrow.

"Did something happen between the two of you?" she mused half-heartedly.

"Mom…" Ferb paused, unable to decide on how to proceed. Eventually, he decided to just be honest, "Isabella's dead…"

"What?!" Lawrence cried, "How?! I thought she was safe on Borealis?"

"Don't you know?" Ferb asked in disbelief.

"What? We were asleep. What did we miss?" Linda demanded. "What did this to Phineas?"

Ferb didn't respond. He simply turned on the computer's news feed. His parents quietly took up positions on either side of their sons and took a nearly catatonic Phineas into their arms. Then, the news feed began.

* * *

"We bring you some breaking news from city hall! Although the mayor has not spoken out about the recent events around the mysterious mist surrounding Danville and hasn't claimed responsibility for the terror and fear caused by the event, one of the top scientists from Danville U has come to speak about the issue." Jenny took a deep breath of air before continuing. "We now welcome Baljeet Tjinder to speak about the recent disaster that has befallen our wonderful city.."

There was a solemn soft applause as Baljeet came to the front of the building, but there was a sullen mood echoed by the resignation on the young man's face. He grabbed the microphone and began to speak before the agitated crowd.

* * *

" _Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. I appreciate that you have all come together during this dark time."_

Perry he flipped over the balcony and surveyed the wreckage around him. He winced at all the scattered parts and demolished walls. However, there was only one thing that mattered to him. His nemeses.

He pulled out a flashlight, as the power had all gone out, and began to search. It wasn't long before he picked up on the sound of sobbing and quickly made his way over to the nearest scrap pile. He turned a corner and let out a sigh of relief when the beam of light fell on the former evil scientist, who looked relatively unharmed. Cautiously, the platypus approached.

 _Grrrrrrrrr_

"Ah, Perry the Platypus. You survived," Doofenshmirtz blubbered, "It's nice to know I have someone left."

Perry's eyes widened as he remembered what had happened moments earlier. He looked around, but his fears were confirmed when he couldn't find Vanessa and he chattered sadly.

"My baby is gone…"

* * *

" _After conducting a few tests, I have come to a grave conclusion about the effects of the alien asteroid that ravaged our city hours ago."_

Candace stared in horror at the news unfolding before her. Something had happened, she could tell by the glow that shimmered outside and she had a feeling that Phineas and Ferb had nothing to do with it

"Stacy, I have to call you back. I need to get home now."

* * *

" _Although the mist has been unable to cross the outskirts of our city, it seems to have had a devastating effect on the rest of the planet, even though we were spared."_

Roger Doofenshmirtz looked around cautiously, to ensure that he hadn't been followed, before entering a tube. His hair and suit flapped in the wind as he fell downward and into a secret lair. There he was greeted by Major Monogram.

"Ah, mayor, It's good to see you."

Roger frowned, and decided not to dance around. "Project Athena. Is it ready for use?"

"Project Athena!? We haven't run that in almost a decade! Isn't it a bit extreme?"

"Order must be maintained at all costs. We must keep our families together" Roger muttered before handing him a slip of paper, "I'm sure you would understand."

Monogram's face darkened at the unwanted memories before snatching the paper out of the mayor's hands.

"Give me five days."

* * *

" _Our planet has been forever changed, and I'm afraid that everything outside of the Tri-State Area has suffered a terrible fate. Everything outside of the city limits has been frozen, unmovable and untouchable. All contact with the outside world has been lost"_

The Flynn-Fletcher family was now crowded in the living room, huddled together, but Phineas barely noticed. All he could think about was the loss of his love. Her image ravaged his mind with happy memories and were now meaningless to him. He couldn't register the statements coming from his friend, but the others were hanging on every word.

* * *

"This can only mean one thing. Somehow, the asteroid has frozen our planet in time," Baljeet took a pause to let the gasps of horror and fear coming from the crowd subside. "Planet Earth has stopped spinning and we are now alone indefinitely in an endless night."

* * *

 **Next up-No Tomorrow:** In which the Gang begins to make a desperate plan to save Danville from the clutches of darkness.


	4. Chapter II: No Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for these expository heavy chapters, but I'll get to the more interesting stuff later. I think people will find this chapter interesting though. I changed it a lot since the last chapter, so the teaser is really out of date.

* * *

Ferb and most of his friends were gathered in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard trying to come up with a course of action. Phineas had neglected to join then, opting to visit Mrs. Garcia Shapiro first with his parents. As horrible as it seemed, Ferb didn't want to take part in that discussion at all. Isabellla was closer to him than most people knew. He had been hoping for her to become his sister-in-law one day and her death had shaken him deeply.

Baljeet wasn't fairing much better after Ginger's death, which was news to him and it had a devastating effect on his psyche. He had run off at the news and Buford had gone after him. That left just himself, Django, and the remaining Fireside Girls to come up with a plan. Unfortunately, Phineas was the creative half of the duo and without his brother or Baljeet, they hadn't been able to come up with a solid plan.

"I believe that our main concern right now should be the resources. The Tri-State Area holds little farm land and we have no idea if the mist has contaminated the streams and ground water supplying the crops." Gretchen said while silently wiping a tear from her eye. It was usually Isabella's job to come up with the plan, but Ferb admired how adept she was at taking her place.

"So, what has the isolation done to the streams, powerlines, and pipes running into the city?" Django asked.

"Hard to tell, however half of the city has already lost power and much of the city is on the brink of falling into anarchy due to the mass panic." Gretchen wiped sweat from her brow. "Even worse, the pipes and streams have lost a lot of strength in the flow and I suspect that they may stop flowing entirely very soon."

"Not to mention the weather seems to have been completed halted, meaning that there will be no way to supply the crops with water without rain or snow," Ferb mused. "Even so, the process will be sped up without sunlight. I estimate that it'll take only one or two weeks before all the minor plant life dies off."

"And soon, the effect will travel up the food chain as well," Katie added sadly, "Bees, insects, mice, dogs."

"So according to the logic of the food cycle and limited resources, we're going to become extinct before the end of the year," Holly summarized.

"That's all assuming that Danville doesn't collapse in the ensuing chaos," Milly countered.

"So, what do we do Ferb?" Gretchen asked the boy.

Everyone turned to Ferb as he thought carefully. The situation was dire and they had to move fast to save Danville, but they couldn't do it alone. They needed help, mainly from Phineas and Baljeet.

"We have always been a symbol of hope for Danville," Ferb shifted on his feet in discomfort. It was a strange subject to discuss and talking so much felt weird to him. "We have to show the people of the Tri-State Area that hope is not completely dead. I'll begin looking for anything that can help us from past inventions while the rest of you try to get some reinforcements."

As the group dispersed, Ferb gave a tired sigh and leaned against the trunk of the tree.

"Please, come back to us Phineas. We need you…"

* * *

Phineas had barricaded himself in Isabella's room. The weight of Isabella's death still bore on him heavily. He didn't want to face Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro after what he had done to her and her daughter. He just hoped that his parents could explain it better than he could between his tears. The fierce, but muffled shouting downstairs still sent pains through his heart.

It felt wrong being in her room, but Isabella had often invited him over for movies at midnight and stargazing. Although he had come here many times before, he felt so out of place, like an intruder in a deeply private space. Robotically, he picked up a picture frame that was sitting on her bedside desk and stared at it blankly. It was a photo of the two of them standing in front of Danville's city hall clock with huge smiles on their faces.

"Oh Isabella," he sighed deeply.

He went to replace the photo and froze in terror as his hand brushed against a vase with a withered flower in it. He winced as it smashed on the floor, but was thankful for once that the shouting downstairs hadn't stopped. He went to pick up the pieces when something caught his eye, a strange orblike device wedged in between the cracks. He almost payed no heed to it, since he didn't want to intrude on Isabella's stuff even more, but something was calling him to it. It was strange and Phineas wasn't sure what possessed him to pick up the metallic sphere.

As he held it in his palm, Phineas noted that it felt warm in his hand, contrary to it's bland and metallic nature. However, he didn't get to feel it for long before it jumped up out of his hand and shot to the center of the room. Phineas jumped in surprise as it began to pulse with previously unseen patterns.

" _Phineas Flynn detected. Displaying message."_

The orb opened with a hiss and burst of dust. As Phineas watched in awe, a light flickered within and soon a video appeared, shimmering in the particles release. It took a few moments, but soon a younger Isabella appeared. She was wearing the old outfit she had from when they were kids and her hair was tied in the classic bow on her head. However, what caught Phineas' attention was the strange room she was in. It was virtually covered in what seemed to be simulations of all his past inventions, yet Phineas could not recall having such a room with all of him and his brother's stuff. It was slightly unnerving.

 _"Hi Phineas," Isabella waved happily. "Wow, this was hard to make by myself, but hopefully it works as it should have. Not even my mother can see this. This message is just for you…"_

Phineas smiled slightly due to pride of what Isabella had accomplished, but mostly because hearing and seeing her again was heavenly, even through a recording.

" _And if you're not Phineas, then I suggest that you back off or I'll go straight into detail on all the fantasies between us two that only Phineas and I would like to hear."_

Phineas chuckled slightly as her tone turned fierce. She held the glare for a few seconds, as if warding off an intruder, before her happy disposition came back. Although, Phineas noted that there seemed to be a touch of sadness there now mixed with a steeled determination.

 _"As you may have noticed Phineas, I'm in a pretty strange place. I'm not really sure how I got here, but I found place through a tunnel at the side of your house. Pretty weird huh? I thought that you made it at first, but I didn't think you would hide something like this from me and I found some pretty terrifying stuff down here." She shuddered._

Phineas frowned. Isabella was right of course. He hadn't built such a thing and he was pretty sure that Ferb wouldn't do it either, especially not without telling him. So the fact that someone had copies, or projections, was worrying to him.

 _"Believe it or not, that's not the worst thing I've discovered," she continued with a frown. "I've scouted the area and hacked the computers for data. It turns out that this place has been here since the house was first built and designed by your biological father."_

Now THAT caught Phineas' attention. Had his father known about this?

 _"I know you don't like to talk about Mr. Flynn much," Isabella shifted uncomfortably, "but I have reason to believe that he designed and used this place because there's something I found in here that I've never seen before."_

Phineas leaned in, hanging on her every word.

 _"Mr. Flynn calls it The Athena Project and he worked on it for years in collaboration with a bunch of other scientists even during the time you were born, according to what I've been able to extract from the computer here."_

She looked around carefully, as if someone were about to attack her at any moment, before leaning in close to the recording.

 _"From what I've read, it's dangerous. Your father made a contract with some organization called O.W.C.A. and, from what I can tell, the deal went sour because Mr. Flynn refused the deal before shutting down all work on the project on August 20th, 2000."_

Phineas sucked in a breath of horror. That date was one he would never forget. That was the day that…

 _"Yes, the day before your father went missing," Isabella continued._

Phineas felt like the world was crashing down around him. His father had been involved in some dark dealings with an organization he had never heard of and it somehow led to his disappearance? However, there was one question that he desperately needed answers to above anything else.

"Why did you never tell me of this in person all these years? Why was this hidden away in a recorded message from…" he paused and looked at the date stamped on the video, "7 years ago."

As if she had heard him all the way across space and time, Isabella answered.

 _"Look, I don't know how to explain this to you, how I can even face you knowing what I know, but I think this is the best way. And if I never get the chance to tell you everything, this is my safeguard."_

Phineas jumped as he heard the loud sound of someone pounding on a door, but he quickly realized that it had come from the recording and not from Isabella's bedroom door. The Isabella in the video jumped as well and looked around with a terrified expression on her face.

 _"Look, Phineas whatever this Athena Protocol is, it's dangerous and I believe that they're planning to use it on the whole city soon," Isabella said frantically. "You have to put a stop to it and finish your father's work, though be careful. O.W.C.A. is ruthless and I think they found me. I have faith in you Phineas. I know you can save us all from whatever they are planning."_

There was a loud bang as the door on the left side of the room came down. Isabella let out a scream as several black men charged into the room and the video cut short, leaving Phineas with a newfound sadness and rage that he had never felt before.

* * *

Candace growled as she tried to maneuver down the main streets, but with half the traffic lights gone and people and cars running rampant in the streets, she was barely able to progress. Many times, she had almost hit another car or person because it was so dark. When a young man ran over the hood of her car, causing her to break hard, she finally let out a scream of frustration.

"Oh come on! That's it, I'm taking the side streets."

She swerved to the left hard, ignoring the now worthless traffic laws, and drove into an alley way. She gulped as she suddenly found herself shrouded in almost complete darkness. She let out a sigh of relief when she didn't feel the thud of running over a person or animal.

"Finally! Now nothing can possibly go wrong with no one else around."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than her car ground to a halt and smoke began pouring out of the engine. Candace grumbled something under her breath and got out of the car. She made her way to the front and ran a disbelieving hand over the footmarks on the hood.

"Darn that fool."

She lifted the hood and was about to prop it up when a hand suddenly fell on her shoulder. She let out a scream and spun around to face the person as the hood fell shut with a bang.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the young woman demanded.

The man let out a chilling smile and Candace began to become scared.

"I am…chaos."

There was a scream that echoed through the alley before it was suddenly cut short by a whoosh and a burst of red light. One police officer who heard the cry for help dashed into the alleyway while shouting into his radio for back up, but by the time he had arrived, the alleyway was empty except for a single orange car.

* * *

So…what do you guys think Athena Protocol is? And what do you think happened to Candace? Who was that man? All of this will be answered later, but I'm curious to see what theories spring up.

 **Next up-Out of Time:** In which more beloved characters make a return and Phineas begins his investigation into the dark secrets of Project Athena.


End file.
